Stadtpark Uster

For the reconstructed and redesigned park of Uster, Switzerland, iart developed an interactive lamp made of glass fibre reinforced plastic together with the architects Gramazio & Kohler and the engineers of tegoro solutions ag (since 2013 part of iart).

The lamp is very energysaving, reacts to approaching pedestrians and interacts with other lamps. 46 lamps are placed along the paths in the park. Resembling stalagmites, they rise 120 cm out of the ground. Due to the radar and sensor technology in the lamps' base, their luminosity depends on the surrounding light and pedestrians' movements.

During the day the lamps are on standby, but when it gets dark they automatically turn on and glow at their base on low power (3 watts) until a pedestrian approaches, at which point the light rises from the base to the upper part of the lamp (the maximum power used being 37 watts). On account of its light-sensitivity, one lamp can also affect the lighting-up of another one. The result is a chain reaction of luminous lamps stretching out in front of pedestrians.